Put the checkbook down and slowly back away

With the second UFA period of the Terry Pegula era about 48 hours away, I'm going to take a position that I doubt too many Sabres fans will agree with: the Sabres should NOT go after any big money UFAs this year.

The #1 reason is that the Sabres don't have any glaring holes on the NHL roster today. Just look at the CapGeek Sabres page.

The Sabres are set in goal with Miller and Enroth. They have 8 NHL ready defensemen under contract and TJ Brennan as an RFA who would have to clear waivers to go to Rochester. So while it's nice to dream about adding Ryan Suter to play with Tyler Myers for the next five years or longer, it could be a very tough sell.

At center, the Sabres have Roy, Ennis, and Hodgson and Grigorenko may be NHL ready. So, they could have 4 centers for 3 spots. The Sabres could potentially use a gritty fourth line center. But, that wouldn't be a premier, big dollar acquisition.

The Sabres have plenty of NHL depth at LW (Vanek, Foligno, Leino, Gerbe, McCormick, & Ellis). RW is a spot that isn't as deep (Pominville, Stafford, Kaleta, Tropp). But, they likely need more of a depth guy unless they flip Vanek or Leino from LW to RW to balance things out. Plus, if Grigorenko makes the team and the Sabres don't trade Roy, Ennis likely gets moved back to the wing to help the depth there. The Sabres could use maybe one depth addition on the wing. But, that's not a big ticket item, either.

The #2 reason is the contract Ville Leino got last year, the Sabres cap situation, and the CBA uncertainty. The Sabres have around $11.6 million available against the cap right now. But, that's with a provisional cap at $70.2 million that could come down when the new CBA is signed. They also have to re-sign RFAs (Ennis, & Kaleta) and if Grigorenko makes the big club, he'll count over $1 million against the cap.

While Terry Pegula has proven that he'll bury contracts, it's not an ideal situation. I'd rather that the Sabres pass this off season and help clean up the team's cap situation.

The #3 reason is that I want to see the Sabres spend their time not looking to make the roster better for the 2012-13 season and instead building around the "young core" of the team. Guys like Grigorenko, Girgensons, Myers, Hodgson, Ennis, Armia, and Pysyk are the guys that the team needs to build around. So, instead of adding UFAs that are older than the "young core", I'd rather see the team focus on moving out the "Rochester core" and adding new pieces to the "young core".

Can the Sabres move out guys like Vanek, Roy, Stafford, Pominville, and Miller and add to the young core. Anaheim winger Bobby Ryan has been mentioned as a player that is available. The Ducks have a lack of depth at center behind Ryan Getzlaf. Could the Sabres package up Roy, the team's 2013 1st round pick, and a prospect defenseman not named McNabb or Pysyk to get Ryan? Anaheim might prefer Tyler Ennis or Cody Hodgson to Roy. I would try and improve the other parts of the Sabres offer and keep Roy as the center moving and see if a deal can get done. But if push came to shove, I probably would move Tyler Ennis in a deal for Bobby Ryan.

I would see about moving Ryan Miller and then trying to trade for LA Kings back up Jonathan Bernier since the Kings just locked up Jonathan Quick to a ten year extension. Bernier and Enroth would give the Sabres a young goalie tandem that fits into the "young core" model.

If the Sabres could move Vanek and Stafford for prospects and/or young players, the Sabres could then potentially dip into UFA for some veteran bridge players like perhaps Shane Doan to try and give the "young core" some role models.

Given what happened at the draft, I think now is the time to try and move on from the "Rochester core" and build around the "young core" that the team has. And it doesn't have to be a complete rebuild where the team will suffer on the ice in 2012-13. There are plenty of young players on the roster already that can compete at a high level this season.

The final reason is that I doubt Suter or Parise will sign in Buffalo. Suter has a stated desire to stay in the Western Conference and Detroit and Minnesota have a need for a big time defenseman and the cap space to give Suter a handsome offer. Parise might get courted by the Penguins who have a need for a big time winger to play with Crosby or Malkin. I don't see the Sabres and their Pegulabucks enticing either guy to come here.

And I've seen what happens when the Sabres can't entice the #1 differencemaker and sign the #2 guy to a stupid contract. I don't want the Sabres signing another Ville Leino.

So, I hope that Pegula and Regier put the checkbook down and slowly back away. Hopefully I'll be as excited about the off season moves they make with the NHL roster as I am about how the draft went.